Thursday, September 17, 2015

Homelessness

Hawaii has a major problem with homeless people.
The year-round great weather makes Hawaii one of the best places in the world to
live rough. In my three weeks on Oahu, I have seen hundreds of homeless
persons.

Unsurprisingly, now, as twenty-years ago, I repeatedly
hear the urban legend that other states give their homeless a one-way plane
ticket to Hawaii, sending the homeless to an attractive destination and
foisting a potential problem onto another government.

Living without a fixed place of residence the past
several months has given me a personal appreciation of the plight of the
homeless.

First, getting mail is a problem. The Postal Service
does not rent boxes to individuals who cannot prove their identity and
demonstrate a fixed place of residence. Mailbox services, of which I have used
two, supposedly have the same rules. Thankfully, their rates are lower than are
the Postal Service's rates and their personnel more understanding. I receive
little mail, but some of what I receive is vital, e.g., credit cards or mail
from financial institutions.

Second, opening a bank account without an address –
at least a mailbox somewhere – is probably impossible. Again, firms and
personnel have been cooperative, bending rules that require not only a mailing
address but also a fixed place of abode. However, I suspect that requirements
for both a mailing and physical address can easily become an insurmountable for
many homeless people.

All of the above contributes to the financial
plight of the homeless, some – probably a minority – of whom are entitled to
social security (old age, disability, etc.) or have other sources of income
that they may find impossible to access. In other words, the system contributes
to exacerbating and perpetuating the problems of the homeless.

Third, some homeless people have cell phones. I saw
a woman visit a Satellite City Hall office in Honolulu while I was there
registering my car. She came in, sat down, plugged in her phone, and let it
charge. I wondered: Could she, if necessary, get a replacement phone? Would she
have difficulty signing up for an email account? Where could she access her
email account or surf the net? These items are not luxuries; they are how our
society functions and connects people one with another.

Fourth, many of the homeless have mental health
issues. For example, while her phone was charging, the homeless woman in the
Satellite City Hall office sat by herself, taking no note of anyone else in the
room, and carried on a conversation, complete with hand gestures and facial
expressions, with an invisible partner. For others of the homeless, the mental
health issues may involve depression, addiction, and other problems. Seeing
people lying on the sidewalk in the middle of the day, their few possessions –
most of which are apparently worthless – piled around them, underscores how
many homeless people are homeless precisely because they cannot cope, even in
the best of times, with twenty-first century life.

Fifth, some of the homeless I see are infants or children
who are living rough with one or two adults, presumably at least one of whom is
their parent. I wonder if an adult's mental illness has caused the family's
problems or if an adult's unfortunate choices have resulted in their
homelessness. If the latter, then helping the family get back on its feet
represents a great social investment. I've never met a mentally healthy person
who wanted to live on the streets (and I spent several months, early in my
ministry, working with the homeless in Nashville). And if the former, then I doubly
concerned about the children's welfare: not only are they living on the street
but their primary caregiver(s) lacks the skills to care for self, let alone
care for others.

Honolulu has enacted sit-lie laws that criminalize
sitting/lying on the street in the same place for 24 consecutive hours.
Honolulu has also empowered its police officers to move the homeless out of
certain tourist and commercial areas, e.g., Waikiki. The laws have shifted the
homeless from one area to another but do nothing to address the real problem.

Incidentally, I could extend my observations about
the homeless to include comments about their difficulty in obtaining
transportation, their need for sanitary facilities, their right to healthcare and
food, etc. Similarly, the homeless can impede business and make other citizens
feel uncomfortable if not unsafe. Unlike some cities, I have not seen
Honolulu's homeless begging, trying to wash windows of cars stopped at traffic
lights, or engaging in many other problematic behaviors.

The Institute for Human Services (IHS), founded by
an Episcopal priest decades ago, has undertaken an initiative to help the
homeless get off the streets. In about a third of the cases, IHS has helped the
homeless move into a shelter. In about a third of the cases, IHS has connected
the homeless with family who have taken the first in and will provide ongoing
care. And in about a third of the cases, IHS efforts to help have produced no
discernible, significant results.

Imagine two-thirds of the homeless no longer living
on the streets! Criticizing those results is easy. Achieving better results may
be impossible. A community that cares about its citizens can improve life for
everyone by establishing top-notch group homes (a better long term alternative
than shelters) and by reconnecting people with family.

2 comments:

First, getting mail is a problem. Mail can be sent to John Doe c/o General Delivery, Post Office, City, State, ZIP and it will be held pending pick up for a given period of time. It occurs to me that this is a service churches could provide homeless folks by allowing their mail to be sent to the church address.

Good idea. Churches can also allow the homeless to use their sanitary facilities and kitchens. More importantly, churches can help some of the homeless to move off the sheets, as evidenced by the success of IHS.